All Blue Issue 1: Winning Ways Return
As it turns out, it has been a somewhat auspicious time to be starting a newsletter about Michigan Olympic sports. Michigan opened its athletic season by going six games across all sports without picking up a win (there are some draws in there). In the current era, which we're starting in 2000 when men's soccer went varsity, this was the longest winless streak to begin the year (which almost certainly makes it the longest one ever). The previous high was five, set in 2005.
Now, lets be clear: there is really no such thing as an all-sports winless streak, as team performance across sports is not correlated at all. On a team-by-team basis, very few of these results are particularly surprising. And if anything, this stat just shows how much strength there is on State Street.
When I was researching the stat, I found that by far the most frequent winless streak to start a year is 0; women's soccer usually wins their opener and that's that. Field hockey typically opens against a ranked ACC opponent and still wins those games at a solid clip. Between those two, I rarely even had to check the volleyball and men's soccer schedules to find the first win. This is only the fourth time since 2004 where it took more than two events for the Wolverines to grab a W.
At any rate, thank you to men's soccer for beating Cal Baptist and saving us from extremely minor strife.
Watch Grid
The Watch Grid (pithier name pending) is up! Want to know your next opportunity to watch the Wolverines on something other than B1G+? Want to know what the hell ACCNX is? You can see every real-TV game the Wolverines have scheduled (and then some) on the watch grid, which also includes a helpful explainer. Its at the link at the top of the paragraph, "Watch Michigan" at the top of the page, or at allblue dot fans slash tv. Memorable!
Three Previews
Starting with previews and putting recaps second may seem backwards, but my main goal with All Blue is to get you to watch more Michigan sports. So, previews go on top. You can open the newsletter, see a quick guide to what might be worth watching over the weekend, and then come back later to read some recaps and get context. Previews lean towards inclusion of stuff you can see on TV or can go to.
Men's Soccer v. #9 Akron, Friday September 1st, 7p, BTN+
Akron started the season ranked 22nd, a low-for-them preseason ranking for the perennial postseason contender. It seems it only took one good win (1-0 over then-#7 Vermont) for voters to go "oh yeah its Akron, they're probably pretty good." Akron also beat Niagara quite badly, 6-0. Michigan has held its own so far this season, with a win and a draw over solid-not-elite competition. Akron is the first major test. In their last season in the MAC (Akron is now in the Big East for soccer as MAC soccer dissolved), they did not lose a match, and gave up five total goals. They have not been scored on this season. If the Wolverines pull off the win as a home underdog, it will give them a crucial RPI bump as they hunt for an at-large NCAA Tourney bid.
#4 Field Hockey v. #18 Old Dominion, Sunday September 3rd, Noon, BTN+
After striking out in North Carolina, the Wolverines return for a three game homestand. Old Dominion lost its opener to Delaware 4-2, despite doubling the Blue Hens' shots. The Monarchs will spend the weekend in Michigan, heading up to play Central on Friday before coming to Ann Arbor on Sunday. Michigan plays UC Davis this weekend as well (Friday, 6p, home), and should be able to take advantage of that match to pick up their first win. ODU is one of the two best teams left on Michigan's non-conference schedule. It's not quite a must-win given how many opportunities they'll have to pick up ranked wins during the B1G season, but you want this one to prove the skid last weekend is truly over.
Volleyball @ #21 Arkansas, Sunday September 3rd, Noon, SECN+
Volleyball will play two games at the (and I cannot be clear enough that what I'm about to say is real) Wooo Pig Invitational (three O's!). They'll take on Colorado State in a match that starts towards the end of the football game Saturday, and then they'll face the hosts on Sunday. No broadcast for the CSU match, but the Arkansas match will be on SECN+ which is on the ESPN app IF you get SEC Network. Arkansas is 2-2; they opened their season with sweeps over Michigan State and Tulsa, before losing twice to #1 Wisconsin, each in five sets. The Razorbacks have not been on the road yet.
A 1-1 trip to Arkansas would be acceptable, but any trip that includes a win over Arkansas could give Michigan the confidence they need to put early-season struggles behind them.
Three Recaps
Women's Soccer
@ #12 Virginia, 1-1 T, Boston College, 1-0 W
Michigan went 0-1-1 on its west coast swing to open the season, with a loss at now-#19 USC and a draw at Pepperdine. Despite it not being a win, I think there is an argument to be made that this draw in Virginia is the most significant positive result in any sport so far this season. Soccer fans know that if you walk into a top team's stadium and leave with a point, that's a great result, and it is a result that will help Michigan in the RPI throughout the season.
Virginia was ranked #5 at the time the match kicked, and you can see what the draw did to their ranking. Virginia had its chances, but the Michigan backline stayed organized with Stephanie Sparkowski contributing two saves. While to some degree this was a "run out the clock" match for Michigan, Michigan had an incredible chance to take the lead in the final minute. Kali Burrell found herself with the ball behind the last defender, forcing the Cavs keeper out of her goal to make the save.
Michigan then returned to Ann Arbor, beating Boston College 1-0 in the home opener. In my WSoc preview I said this match would be a good litmus test against a similarly situated program, so I'm happy to see them win. All credit is due to a seven save performance by Sparkowski to keep the Eagles out of the net. The goal was scored just out of halftime by Freshman Gabrielle Prych, making her the first player to get two goals this season.
Men's Soccer
Loyola Marymount, 1-1 T, Cal Baptist, 2-0 W
After all of that stuff I said in the intro, let's look at some of the same data positively: men's soccer is undefeated! It took Michigan a bit of time to find its footing in the LMU match. LMU is no slouch, they significantly outranked Michigan in RPI last year (86 v. 142), and in the first half significantly outshot the Wolverines by a 6-1 margin.
Just out of the break, the Lions converted the first shot of the second half into a goal for a 1-0 lead at 48'. Over the course of the rest of the match Michigan had the better of the chances, with 8 shots to LMU's 4 post-goal. At 65', Moshtaba Al-Hasnawi found the ball at the top of the box, took a great first touch, and found paydirt. Michigan's best chance for the winner came when Quin Rogers took the shot off of a corner and then got a second chance off the rebound. It was not to be, and Michigan held on for the season-opening draw. Loyola went on to upset then-#15 Virginia and entered the coach's poll this week at #24.
Michigan picked up its first win in a Sunday contest against Cal Baptist. No stream for this one, but the Wolverines well outshot the Lancers, 20-7. Alex Waggoner got the Wolverines on the board at 50'. Al-Hasnawi added an assist to his season points tally, with Bryce Blevins (previously featured in our MSoc preview) converting the goal. Al-Hasnawi is a fifth-year senior who needs just one more 90-minute appearance to eclipse his playtime total from both his junior and senior seasons.
#4 Field Hockey
@ #1 North Carolina, 3-2 L, #12 Wake Forest (neutral site, Chapel Hill, NC), 1-0 L
As they usually do, Michigan opened its season with the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. This event annually matches North Carolina and Wake Forest with Michigan and Iowa, rotating among the four campuses, both teams play both opposite-conference teams. Against host North Carolina, Michigan opened the scoring, with a freshman-to-freshman connection from Ann Arbor's Natalie Millman to France's Juliette Manzur. UNC equalized shortly after the start of the second quarter, and after two more unanswered, went to halftime up 3-1. Michigan made it interesting late, with an Anouk Veen goal with four to play, but UNC was able to kill the clock and hold on, 3-2.
The Wake Forest match was often frustrating. Michigan spent a very large portion of the second quarter up a player, but could not slot any of its three shots home. Wake pelted the goal in the third quarter, five of Caylie McMahon's eight saves on the day were in the third. Michigan did not give up a goal during the run of play, but unfortunately Wake did not need them to.
Five minutes into the fourth quarter, the ref allowed play to continue with a Wolverine down on the field. At the same time, Claire Taylor collided with a Demon Deacon just in front of the Michigan goal and the ref awarded a penalty stroke. The Wolverines protested that play should not have continued, but it was for naught. Wake Forest scored on the penalty, and killed off the final ten minutes to send Michigan home from North Carolina winless.
Neither of these losses are concerning in a vacuum, and Michigan has plenty of chances to prove they deserve their top 5 ranking (FH rankings won't update until next week). Still, with the margins as tight as they are at the top and just four teams earning the right to host NCAA Tourney regionals, Michigan may have burned through their breathing room. For their part, the Hawkeyes left the Challenge 2-0.
What Else Is Blue?
- Wolverine alum Emina Bektas (women's tennis, 2011-15) won her first two matches at US Open qualifying before falling one match shy of the main draw. Bektas powered through an overnight rain delay in the second round, returning to court at 3-3 in the second match and making quick work of her opponent. She finished off the first set 6-3, and then took it in straight sets with a 6-4 second. In her third match, Bektas picked up an early injury and never looked the same. I truly believed she would retire but she kept playing, taking a 6-1, 6-1 loss. We'll keep following Bektas on tour, trust me. I love tennis.
- Men's gymnastics fifth-year senior Paul Juda won the floor title at last week's U.S. Gymnastics Championships. That win helped him grab sixth in the all-around. Watch his national-championship winning routine.